Pristine – No Regret (2013)
Artist: Pristine
Album: No Regret
Genre: Blues Rock
Origin: Norway
Year Of Release: 2013
Quality: mp3, 320 kbps
Tracklist:
01. Carry Your Own Weight
02. She Won
03. Tell Me
04. The Occasional Wife
05. One Good Reason
06. No Regret
07. Pistols & Petticoats
08. One Good Reason (Feat. Bjorn Berge)
09. Beyond Retreat
Heidi Solheim, front woman of the blues rock group, Pristine, confidently leads her male members with hair as red as her fiery passion and womanly angst and a classic voice as fitting as a worn in pair of black leather boots. The album title captures the essence of the record, one laced with betrayal and consequences, toxic relationships and the gratification of a fresh start. The record plays like an autobiographical account, a storybook of a well-played rebel heart. With a trippy ’70s inspired vibe and a powerful, classic rock exterior, No Regret is an album with a wide variety of appeal. Some songs could get any country fan slashing her ex’s tires, while others might resonate with a brooding rocker’s troubled mind. Regardless, with the album’s delicate sense of vulnerability paired with an edgy and expressive, yet mature and unmasked voice, it certainly has the potential to echo the desires and lure every listener.
No Regret begins with an undeniably catchy tune, led by perfectly distorted vocals and a groovy guitar riff, and backed by a timely rhythm. This song is called “Carry Your Own Weight” and deals with responsibility and consequences of misbehavior, a karmic ideology. The second track, “She Won,” is a romantic war, each battle consisting of lying, cheating, and, in the end, the waving of the tattered white flag. “Tell Me” plays with a country feel with lines like “Tell me / what you gotta do / spending all my money on your cheap perfume / Tell me / drinking in the sun / playing all night long / and we just got here;” however, a classically rock ‘n’ roll guitar solo rips through the bridge and brings down the house with the bellowing effects of metal. “The Occasional Wife,” a slow, blues-infused love story of gossip, lies, and heartbreak, is instantly intriguing, as the listener is told of a true account — “Now, this is my story / Mm, this is my life / and the chariot awaits / the occasional wife.”
The fifth track, “One Good Reason,” takes the pain of deceit and betrayal and turns it into a heavy heartbreak theme woven together with hints of revenge, irritation, and witty sarcasm. This same song morphs into a feisty acoustic version later on in the record with a featured performance by talented guitarist Bjorn Berge. “No Regret” is the longest song on the record and takes the album title; it is a hauntingly reflective piece that shakily grabs hold and conquers the fear in walking away and the sadness in wasted years to find one bravely facing “the point of no return.” “Pistols & Petticoats” is a grungy and girly revenge-seeking anthem, as one might gather from the title, while “Beyond Retreat” is a slow and meditative piece, a declarative musical statement reminding the enemy that the ending of this heartsick battle is not yet over.
No Regret is a work of common themes and familiar genres made into a musical refreshment. The record shamelessly speaks its lyrically perfected womanly confessions and expressions crafted into bluesy stories backed by the powers of classic rock ‘n’ roll, taking one to a heightened level of musical satisfaction. Appropriately named and wonderfully written, no regret is exactly what one will feel after listening to this pristine blues rock album.
by Jill Jacobs
